A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains or may contain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates in general to a gaming device, and more particularly to a gaming device having a bonus scheme which enables a player to make repeated selections of value sets with the option of saving values.
Many existing gaming machines, such as traditional slot machines, include bonus rounds. Typically, a bonus round begins when the player reaches a bonus triggering event in the primary game of the gaming device. In slot machines with reels, the triggering event usually occurs when the player reaches a predetermined combination of symbols on the reels. Usually, the bonus scheme provides the player with an opportunity to gain a bonus value before the bonus round terminates.
Many of these bonus schemes involve a player making selections and receiving an award or no award depending upon the player""s selections. Certain bonus schemes include an offer and acceptance feature. For instance, the gaming device provides the player with three selections. The selections are each associated with various values. After the player makes the first selection and the gaming device reveals the associated value, the player can accept or reject this value. If the player rejects this value, the player can make another selection. This process continues until there are no more selections or until the gaming device terminates the bonus round. If a player rejects a value, the player cannot go back and recover this value. This type of bonus scheme was included in a game entitled xe2x80x9cTOP DOLLAR,xe2x80x9d manufactured by IGT. These types of offer and acceptance bonus schemes only enable a player to have a limited amount of control over a player""s ultimate reward.
Another type of selection bonus will give the player two values that can be added or multiplied together to create an offer. The player may decide to keep one of the values and reject the other. The rejected value will then be replaced with a substitute value. The substitute value is then added or multiplied with the kept value from the first offer to create a second offer. This can occur a pre-determined number of times before the player will receive the displayed offer. This type of bonus scheme was included in a game xe2x80x9cTAKE YOUR PICK,xe2x80x9d manufactured by IGT. This type of bonus does not give the player many options.
To increase player enjoyment and excitement, it is desirable to provide players with new bonus schemes for gaming devices.
The present invention overcomes the above shortcomings by providing a gaming device having a bonus scheme which includes a plurality of value sets. The value sets are sets or rosters of numbers. Preferably, the numbers vary in magnitude. Each value set is associated with a value set symbol. A value set symbol can be a single image, a plurality of images, or a configuration of value symbols.
In operation, the gaming device displays a plurality of value set symbols to the player. The player chooses one of the value set symbols. The gaming device then reveals the value set associated with the value set symbol. For instance, after the player makes a selection, the gaming device may reveal the values twenty-five, ten, five and one hundred. The gaming device may then enable the player to accept the sum of these values or instead save one of these values and make a selection of another value set which includes the saved value. The term save, as used herein, includes reserving or designating something for future use. This process continues until the bonus scheme terminates. The bonus scheme can terminate when any predetermined event or sequence of events occurs, as determined by the gaming device. Preferably, the bonus scheme terminates after the player has made a predetermined number of selections. It should be appreciated that the bonus scheme of the present invention can be adapted so that the player can save a plurality of values. Furthermore, the bonus scheme of the present invention can be adapted so that a player can accept and receive one or more of the values in a value set instead of having to receive the sum of the values in a value set.
In one preferred embodiment, the value set symbol is a configuration of value symbols. The value symbols are displayed on a grid which includes a plurality of locations. The configurations are preferably in the form of a straight line connecting value symbol to value symbol from one side of the grid to another side of the grid. These configurations include horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. It should be appreciated, however, that a configuration can include any shape, any form or any arrangement of value symbols, in any orderly or disorderly fashion.
Since the value symbols and configurations are included within a grid, each configuration includes one value symbol (and one value) in common with another configuration which is identical in location and value. As such, when a player selects an initial configuration, the player has the opportunity to select a different configuration which includes a value symbol and value which is identical to one value symbol and value in the rejected configuration. In operation, the gaming device displays the grid of locations and value symbols to the player. The gaming device, preferably at the same time, informs the player of the various configurations which the player can select. The player then selects a configuration and the gaming device reveals the values associated with each of the value symbols in that configuration. The player then has the opportunity to accept the sum of the values in that configuration and receive an award equal to that sum. Alternatively, the player can take note of the highest value or any other value in that configuration and select a different configuration which includes that value. This process continues until the bonus scheme terminates. Preferably, the bonus scheme terminates after the player has made a predetermined number of selections.
In another embodiment, the gaming device displays a plurality of value set symbols to the player. Here, the value set symbol is a single image. The player can select any one of the value set symbols. After the player selects an initial value set symbol, the gaming device displays the values associated with that value set symbol to the player. Then, the gaming device provides the player with the opportunity to accept the sum of these values and receive an award accordingly or the player can save one of these values and make a different selection which will include the saved value. In this embodiment, the gaming device preferably provides predetermined values for the value sets for the various value set symbols at the outset. However, after the player rejects an initial selection and saves a value, the gaming device then changes the values in the remaining value sets so that each value set includes the saved value. This bonus scheme preferably terminates after the player has made a predetermined number of selections.
The bonus scheme of the present invention involves a plurality of value sets and associated value set symbols. The player has the opportunity to select one or more of the value set symbols and accept or reject an award associated with such value set symbols. If a player rejects an award, the player can save a value from the rejected value set and receive that value in the player""s next selection. This type of bonus scheme provides players with a sense of control in the ultimate award they will receive. This sense of control adds excitement and entertainment to gaming devices.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a gaming device with a bonus scheme which enables a player to make repeated selections of value sets with the option of saving values.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, elements, components, steps and processes.